Oil burner



Bat. 21 1924.

E. SMITH OIL BURNER '"i l ed May 1,

1922 2 Sheets-Sheet l mm m INVENTOR.

BY ATTORNEY I. E. SMITH OIL BURNER Filed May 1 1922 2 Sheets-Sheep 2 BY W AQTTORNEY T Patented Got, 21, 31924.. i

v 1512,24? PATENT- orato IRA EDWARD SMITH, OF STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA.

OIL BURNER.

Application filed May 1, 1922. Serial No. 557,506.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, IRA E. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Stockton, county of San J oaquin, State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oil Burners; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference be ing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked there-' on, which form a part of this application.

This invention relates to improvements in oil burners, such as are used for furnace, boiler and oven heating and the like,

'the principal object being to provide ina single unit, a base, a motor, an adprstable rheostat switch; an automatic oil supply device, a burner plate, a draft creating fan, and a pump for delivering oil to the plate.

Another object is to provide a burner which will have a burner .plate, on which the oil is fed, which is adapted to be rotated at high speed, throwing the oil centrifugally, while at the same time means are proplate.

. vided, in conjunction with the draft fan,

for directing the air blast 'positivel'y upwards and through the spray of oil being thrown-horizontally, thereby creating a circular and inverted-cone shaped fire, the air thus thoroughly mixing with the oil and insuring a fire of intense heat in which the .fuel mixture will be efiiciently and thor-' oughly burned, minimizing the tendency to form carbon deposits.

Another object is to provide gearing or similar means for driving the pump, burner plate and fan assembly, which will be completely enclosed, and will at all times be lubricated by the oil being fed to the burner A further object is to provide means for the return to the source of. supply of any excess oil which is not mixed With the air and burnt, or used for lubricating the gears and bearings, thereby eliminating the Waste of any oil.

I have also arranged to be used.in;con-' nection with'the burner, a special form of float-controlled oil supply or: distributing member, from which the oil is led t'o'the burner pump, and to which the overflow from the burner returns.

A further object of theinventionis to -.p1'oduce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedingly effective for the purposes for which it is designed.

These objects-I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawings similar characters of refenence indicate corresponding parts in the several views. i

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a complete assembly of the device.

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the burner.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the oil supply and float controlled member, this member being shown at approximately the correct horizontal level with respect to the burner shown in Fig. 1. i

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the main burner casing, showing the. shaft-operating gears.

Fig. dis a sectional view of power transwhich isa centrifugal runner 3 adapted to take in oil from a passage 4 formed in a bottom cap 5 and to discharge it through a spiral 6 into a passage 7 formed with the casing, the passage leading to a circumferential groove 8 provided in the shaft 2 a certain distance above the runner, the shaft being longitudinally bored or orificed as at 9 from this point upwardly, said bore communicating with the groove by means of holes 10. A ball bearing'Q surrounds-the shaft 2 justv above the runner 3, and is constructed to support thesha'ft. A regulat ing needle valve 11 projects into the passage 7 to control the flow of oil from the pump to the shaft, and extending to -a point as will be hereinafter seen a packing box structure-11 surrounding the valve at its entry into the passage.

Slidably mounted on the shaft 2 is an independent unit but arranged in driving connection with. said shaft is the following structure;

A sleeve 12 having a shoulder 13 on its lower end is adapted to easily fit on the upper end of the shaft 2. Supported by the sh ulder 13 and held against rotation by a key 14 is a spiral gear 15, above which means of cap screws 18.

is a spacer 16, which supports the inner race and balls of a bearing 17, the outer race 1'? of which is permanently seated in the upper end of an open-topped cap 18 fixed on the upper end of the casing 1 by Resting on the race 17 is a washer 19 above which is a horizontally disposed fan 20, concentrically positioned on the sleeve 12.

Resting on the central portion of the fan and surrounding the sleeve is a spacer 21, on top of which is seated an oil distributing plate 22 preferably formed ,of'two or more concentric and frustoconical rings 23 connected by arms 24 the rings being spaced. apart vertically somewhat and being of successively smaller diameters from the top down, so that horizontal and circular air passages are formed therebetween. Resting on the plate 22 is a cup 25.

The above described members are all held firmly together as a unit and in the order named by means/of a hollow cap 26 which screws onto the upper end of the sleeve .12 and into the spacer 21 a certain distance the bore of the latter being enlarged at its upper end as at 27 to allow of this being done. The cap has a shoulder or flange 28 which bears against the bottom of the cup, thus binding all the parts between this shoulder and the lower shoulder 13 firmly together. Orifices 29 are cut through the cap above the shoulder and discharge into the cup 25. This unit structure is held in driving relation with the shaft by means of a transverse pin 30 in the cap above the holes, which is adapted to seat in a transversely and centrally cut groove 31 in the shaft 2, cut therein above the discharge orifices 32 which communicate with the bore 9, and at right angles to said orifices.

Meshing with the gear 15 when the above described unit is in position on the shaft 2 is another spiral gear 33 positioned at right angles thereto, this latter gear being mounted on a shaft 34 journaled in ball bearings 35 mounted both in the casing 1 and cap 18;

It will then be evident that when the as sembled unit above described is slipped over the shaft 2 until the race 17 rests in alinelnent with its cooperating race, the

gear 15, being of the spiral form, slips eas-v ily into mesh with the gear 33, and the 2 pin 30 will likewise slip into its groove 31.

thereby making a bayonet lock and drive to turn the pump shaft 2.

The direction of rotation of the driving gear 33 is toward the driven gear 15, causing the assembled unit mounted on the shaft 2 to be held down on the annular and thrust bearing seat or race 17*, thereby holding the driving pin 30 firmly in the shaft-groove 31, and yet throwing no downward strain on the shaft 2, due tothe fact that there is ample room intentionally provided between the pin 30 and bottom of the groove 31, allowing for wear of the ball race of the bearing 17, and making a self adjusting and flexible drive connection, the assembled unit being readily removable for repair or inspection without any tools other than a pair of pliers.

It will be noted that the upper and lower bearings'l? and 2 are placed in such a position relative to the various parts and to the driving and driven members that the driving strain comes between thetwo bear ings, and the load is on the outside of or beyond each respective bearing, thepump load being below the bearing 2 and. the load of the upper unit being above the upper bearing 17. This makes a free moving yet rigid construction with a minimum of wearing strain.

Also, it will be noted that the driving gear 33 is mounted between two combined annular and thrust bearings in such a position relative to the driving and driven members that a free moving yet rigid structure is had, with a minimum of driving strain.

Fixed on the shaft 2 below the gear 15 is an inverted cone-shaped cup 36, the shaft 2 below the top of said cup having a hole 37 communicating with the bore 9 of the shaft, so that with the rotation of the lat ter, a small percentage of the oil in the shaft is thrown into the cup, and from there diverted upwardly to-spray and lubricate the gears and bearings, a part of said oil being thrown against gear 33, and due to the direction of rotation of said gear the oil will be thrown upward into the bearing 17, while the" bearings 35 receive their lubrication both from the cup 36 and from the gear 15, due to the direction of rotation of said gear. The lower bearing 2 be ving entirely submerged in oil at all times gets ample lubrication. The oil preferably used in the burner istherefore of a quality to enable it to serve as a lubricant. as well as a fuel.

Surrounding the casing 1 a certain distance below the top thereof and formed therewith is a dish 38, provided at its lowes't point with a'drain passage 39, which also communicates with the interior of the casing just above the upper end of a bushing 40 in which the shaft 2 is journaled.

Thus the oil, after lubricating the bearings,

we I

above the plate 22 downwardly to a termina tion substantially on a level with but in which is adapted to discharge into and is supported by the dish 38, thecasing 41 being supported on the ring 42 by means of feet 43. I

The ring 42 also aids in directing the draft to the fanaiid burner plate, and is insulated both from heat andelectricity by means of insulation pads 44,- which lie between the ring and dish 38 and support the former, being secured to the ring and dish by screws 45.

By means of this structure, the air drawn into the fan'with the rotation thereof must pass either between the members 38 and 42, or between the latter and the casing 41. In either case, the air has a positive upward travel inside 'the casing and through the spaces in and around the plate 22, thus causing the air-to thoroughly mix with the oil being thrown horizontally from the cup 25 with the centrifugal force set up by the rotation of the parts.

The casing 41 also serves to catch any oil which may be thrown thereagainst and which is not diverted upwardly by the fandraft, and causes it to drain first through the member 42 and then into the drain-cup 38.

This arrangement of parts and direction of travel of air keeps members 38 and 42 cooled down below the igniting point, bringing the cool air from the bottom of the burner and furnace, around, in and over plate 38 to the center of the burner first, then up through, around and over, and en- 'tirely surrounding plate 42, and being then distributed to all upper parts of the burner; thus it will be seen the lower part of .the burner is kept cool, preventing any ignition of oil below. the .casing 41, while preventing any oil from' dripping or flowing outside of the burner into the bottom of the furnace to cause trouble, due to, the air rushing inwardly between the members and forcing any dripping oil down to the center and into the drain return oil pipe back to the source of supply, as hereinafter shown.

Knives 46 are fixed to the upper edge of the member 22 and project upwardly therefrom, being positioned to just clear the inner surface of the casing 41 adjaent the top thereof, so that with-the rotation of the parts any carbon tending to form in the casing will be scraped off continually inv fine particles which are carried up and out ofthe burner by reason of the fan and stack draft.-

In connection with the burner, I use a special form of oil-supply control member, comprising a body 47 having a cylindrical float 48 therein, which automatically controls the seating of a needle valve 49 in the oil intake passage 50, so that the oil in the body may be maintained at a definite level,

and at the same time automaticallysupplies the oil pump with the necessary amount of fuel. mon to various carbureters and the like, no further explanation of the working thereof is thought necessary. The oil is fed to the intake and bowl by a pump or by graviinner screen.

An intake 53 enters the body just above the top of the outer screen, and 'is connected by a pipe 54 to the discharge passage 39,

This form. of construction being comof the burner-dish, said intake being at av lower level than said discharge,-whi1e an outlet 55 leads from the body adjacentthe bottom thereof and is connected by a pipe 56 to' the intake passage 4 of the burnerpump, this outlet being at a higher level than said pump-intake. pipes are preferably connected to their respective members by means of standard fittings 57 The ends of these In this manner, any oil returning from i the burner through the pipe 54 passes intothe space between the screens, thereby catching and holding any foreign matter which may enter with this return oil, and prevent; mg it from being passed into the outlet 55,

which is positioned outside the screens.

The relative horizontal alinement of the parts of the member 47 with respect to those of the body 1, and particularly the pump 3 in the latter, keeps'said pump always primed with oil, eliminating any chance of an air pocket forming on the suction side of the pump.

The pump shaft. 2 'is also arranged in such a manner that-the upper discharge end I is just high enough above the oil level in the member 47' that no oil can flow by gravity from such end, thus reducing to a minimum the power required to drive the pump 3. I Both the body 1 and member-"47 are preferably spaced apart a certain distance and mounted in common on a rigid base 58.

' The member 47 is secured thereon by means of a pad 59 on, said member, while to mount the body 1', I provide pads 60 formed I h 6 integral with and on each side of the dish 38, having-fixed thereunder blocksf61 of a heat and electricity insulating material, I

which rest on the upstanding portions 62 of the base. base at the opposite end thereof from the Likewise firmly mounted on the burner body 1 is an electric motor 63, to

which the shaft 34 is directly connected, there being a pad 63 of insulation material between the motor and base, a coupling 6% of an insulation material interposed in said shaft adjacent the motor, and a bearing bracket 65 for said shaft of a self-alining type located between the body 1 and coupling 64, this bracket being supported from and secured to the base with a block 66 of insulation material therebetween.

Mounted in connection with the motor and interposed in the circuit thereof is an' sulated handle (58, there being besides a coupling 69 interposed in said rod intermediate its ends.

Similarly, short lengths of hose 70 or similar insulating members are interposed in the length of the pipes :i-l and 56.

In practice, the end of the base on which the body 1 is mounted is positioned inside 'thefire box o f'the furnace,- while the motor etc. remain outside. By reason of the various heat insulating members interposed between all the parts which are exposed to heat, the exterior members are maintained in a cool condition, so that their. proper operation is not interfered with no. matter how intense a heat may be formed at and surround the burner itself.

The'gears 15 and 33 are made of chrome vanadium alloy, hardened, while the fan QO, burner plate 22 and knives 46, and casing 41, are made of nichrome alloy steel, which will successfully resist the action of intense heat without warping or otherwise changing shape.

I have also incorporated with the burner structure various means for catching dirt,

scale and other foreign matter, and prevent such from getting into the oil-return passages, which would tend to clog the system.

One of these means is an auxiliary casing 71 suspended from and connected to the casing 41., this casingextending'a suitable distance below the rim of the dish 38, and spaced outwardly of said rim, and also of the oil-collecting ring 42, a suitable distance so as not to interfere with the free passage ofair to the fan.

This casing prevents the fan from possibly drawing in scale etc. which may collect on the walls of the firebox or drop from above. i

I have also provided a fine-mesh and frusto-conical screen 72, positioned between the fan and easing tl and supported by the latter. This screen acts to catch most of ,eiaear any solid matter falling from above into the casing 4-1 when the fan and burner are idle, and prevent such matter from dropping into the dish 38.

As soon as the fan is revolved, however, any matter previously deposited on this screen is drawn upwardly from said screen by the action of the fan, so that the screen is automatically cleaned whenever the burner is in operation, and need not be removed for manual cleaning.

As a final precaution against foreign matter. settling in the dish 38 and working into the oil passage 39 etc. I have covered said dish with a fine-mesh screen 73 which is made in two separate sections to surround the central tube 1 so as to be readily removable for cleaning.

The screen 72 also acts as a safety precaution against the possibility of a back-fire from the burning oil above causing the ignition of the oil in the dish 38 since the air, not passing readily through the screen, nearly all passes up through the central opening of the cone-screen, causing an upward draft or current of great velocity, neutralizing the tendency of a vacuum to form about the hub of the fan, which might cause the flame to be drawn down, thus igniting the oil in the dish 88.

The screen also aids in itself to prevent back-flares, since a flame, as is well known, will not readily pass through screening.

Seated between the plate 22 and the fan 20 is a solidfaced vertical band or tube 74, the upper rimof which is cut to fit into the spaces between the two up er rings 23 of the plate22 and between t e arms 24, the-diameter of the band being such that it fits snugly against the uppermost ring 23.

The lower rimof the band is cut to rest in the .angled blades of the fan, as shown at 75, the diameter of said blades being greater than that of the. band.

The band is not actually-secured to any member, but. is positively located by reason of its being fitted both to the distributing ring and to the fan blades-and is held in place between these two members when they are assembled.

The purpose and effect of this band is to provide two distinct upward currents of air, one of which passes outwardly of the band and plate 22, and the other inwardly of the band and through the spaces between the ring 23. This also neutralizes the tendency to form a vacuum about the hub of the fan, and to draw air and flame down near the center of .the fan, which is the principal cause of back-flares.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that There produced such a lower edge of thea shaft journaled therein, a burner plate While this specification sets forth detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice suchdeviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spir t of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thusdescribed my invention, what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is i- 1. An oil burner including a vertical body, a shaft journaled therein, a burner plate fixed on the upper end-of the shaft, means i for rotating said shaft, such means including gearing operatively connected with the shaft inside the body, means whereby with such rotation a supply of 011 may be fed to the burner plate, and means whereby a certain amount f such oil will be thrownagainst the gearing and bearings thereof for. lubricating the same,

2. An 011 burner including. a vertical'body,

fixed on the upper end'of the shaft, a pump runner mounted on the shaft,'means for rotating said shaft, such' means including gearing operatively connected with the shaft inside the body, the shaft being longitudinally bored, such bore discharging onto the burner plate .and'extending down to a point belowthe- 'gears, an'd the oil discharged from the pump being passed intosaid bore, a cup about the shaft below the gears, and passage means in the shaft leading from the bore to said cup. r

3. An oil burner including a vertical body, a shaft journaled therein, a burner plate fixed on the upper end of the shaft, a pump runner mounted on the shaft, means for rotating said shaft, such means including gearing operatively connected with the shaft inside the body, the shaft being longitudinally bored, such bore discharging onto thev burner plate and extending down to a point below the gears,and the oil discharged from the pump being passed into saidbore, an inverted cone-shaped cup positioned on the shaft below the gears, and passage means leading from the shaft bore to said cup.

' 4. An oil burner including a vertical body, a shaft journaledtherein, a' burneri plate fixed on the upper end of the shaft, a pump runner mounted on the shaft, means for rotating said shaft, such means including gearing operatively connected with the shaft inside the body,,and means whereby with such rotation a'supply of oil for ignition purposes will be fed to the plate and a certain amount thereof thrownagainst the gearing and bearings for lubrication purposes.

5. An oil burneriincluding a vertical body,

a shaft journ'aled therein, a burner plate fixed on the upper end of the shaft, a pump runner mounted on the shaft, means for rotating said shaft, such means including 1 gearing operatively connected with the shaft inside the body, means for feeding oil both to the burner plate and onto the gears and bearings with such, rotation, and means whereby any surplus oil thus fed will be re-' turned to asource of supply. r

6. An oil burner including a vertical body, a shaft journaled therein, a burner plate fixed on the upper end of the shaft, means.

for rotating said shaft, such means including'gearlng operatively" connected with the oil both totheburner plate-and onto the gears and bearings withksuch rotation, a dish surrounding the body below the burner plate and gears and substantially the same shaft inside the body, means for feeding diameter as said plate, whereby any surplus pi lon the burner-plate will drop into the dish, and a discharge outlet leadin from the dish and also communicating with the interior of the body below the gears.

7. An oil burner including a perforated burner plate, means for throwing oil centrifugally onto said plate, means for creating a vertical air blast, and means'whereby the a1r will blow upwardly both through and around said burner plate.

8. An oil burner including a rotatable I with the body, a casing positioned about the burner plate and mountedvlon the body and insulated therefrom, a motor mounted on the base'and insulated therefrom, a shaft extending from the motor to the burner'body and o-peratively connected with the burner plate to turn the same, an insulation. coupling in .said shaft, supply and overflow pipes leading to and from the burner-body, and insulation members interposed in'the said pipes.

10. In combination, a burner body, a vertical shaft turnably mounted therein, a

burner plate at the upper end of the shaft connected to turn therewith, a control valve interposed in said passage means, a pump runner .drven from the shaft, oil-supply passage means leading to the runner and thence to the burner plate, a'motor operatively connected to the burner plate and shaft to turn the same, and an adjustable rheostatswitch in themotor circuit.

11. In. combination, an oil burner, said burner comprising a Vertical casing, a .vertical driven shaft turnably mounted therein,

a burner plate at the upper end of the shaft connected to turn therewith, a pump runner on the lower end of the shaft, and'means whereby oil fed to the n pner will be delivered to the burner plate with the rotation of the shaft; a float controlled fuel reservoir, a pipe leading downwardly from the reservoir to the runner, and an overflow pipe leading from around and inside the easmg downwardly to said reservoir.

12. In combination, an oil burner, said burner comprising a body, a driven shaft turnably mounted therein, a burner plate at the upper end of the shaft connected to turn therewith, a pump runner on the lower end of the shaft, and oil passage means leading from the runner to the upper. end of the shaft to discharge onto the burner plate; a float controlled fuel reservoir, and a pipe leading from the bottom of said reservoir to the runner, the normal level of the oil in said reservoir being below the upper discharge end of the shaft-passage and above the pump runner.

13. An oil burner including a rotatable burner plate horizontally disposed, a vertical open-ended circular casingsurrounding the same and spaced therefrom,'knives mounted on the burner plate parallel to the casing and arranged to pass adjacent the upper portion of the inner walls thereof, and a horizontally disposed fan mounted under the burner plate.

I 14:. In combination, a rigid base member, a burner-bod mounted. thereon at one end and insulate therefrom,- a'rotatable burner plate mounted with the body, a motor cal - nected to the reservoir, and heat and elec-' mounted on the base at the other end and insulated therefrom, a shaft extending from the motor to the burner body and operatively connect-ed with the burner plate to turn the same, an insulation coupling in said shaft, an oil reservoir, supply and overflow pipes leading to and from the burner body, and connected to the reservoir, and insulation members interposed in the said pipes.

15. In combination, a rigid base, a burnerbody supported therefrom at one end, a rotatable burner plate mounted-with the body, a motor supported from the base at the other end, a shaft extending from the motor to the body and operatively connected to the burner plate to turn the same, a self-alining bearing for said shaft projecting upwardly from the base intermediate the body and motor, an oil reservoir, supply and overflow pipes leading to and from the body and contricity insulating means interposed between the body, motor, and shaft-bearing and the base, and interposed in the shaft and pipes.

16. An oil burner comprisinga fixed and tubular vertical body, a shaft turnably mounted therein, bearings for the shaft at the bottom and adjacent the top thereof, a

i. pump runner mounted on the shaft below the lower bearing, a burner plate mounted on the shaft abovethe upper bearing and v connected to the shaftto turn therewith,

burner comprising a body, a driven shaft turnably mounted therein, a burner plate at the upper end of the shaft, a pump runner on the lower end of the shaft, and oil passage means leading upwardly from the runner to the upper end of thesh'aft to discharge onto the burner plate;.a float controlled fuel reservoir, a pipe leading from the reservoir-to the pump runner, and means whereby with a predetermined level of oil in the reservoir an oil seal above the pump runn-e-r will always be had.

18. In combination, an oil burner, said burner comprising a body, a driven shaft turnably mounted therein, a burner plate at the upper en'd'of the shaft, a pump runner on the lower end of the shaft, and oil passage means leading up-wardlylfrom the runner to discharge onto the burner plate; a float controlled fuel reservoir, a pipe lead ing from the reservoir to the pump runner, the normal level of the oil in the reservoir being above said runner, a bushing surrounding the shaft above the pump runner a'point higher than the said reservoir and a pipe leading from the interior of the body to the reservoir and communicating 'with said body at a point just above the upper end of the bushing;

19. In combination with an oil burner having a body, and a centrifugal pump runner therein adjacent the lower end; an oil reservoir comprising a bowl, an intake between the in the lower end thereof, a needle valve for that end, the outer ring being shorter than v the inner ringand fitting closely in the bowl, a pipe leading downwardly to the pump runner from the side of the bowl adj acent the bottom thereof, and; another pipe leading downwardly from the pump body a predetermined distance above the pump runs ner 'to the bowl and communicating with the latter at a pointtherein above the outer screen and the level of the oil in the bowl.

20. An oil burner comprising a vertical body, a shaft turnably mounted therein, a burner plate operatively mounted with the shaft to turn therewith and above the easing, a fan similarly mounted and positioned between the top of the body and the burner I ring under the casing open both at topand on the upper endthereof, a pum bottom, the upper edge of saiddish being. substantially on a level with the lower edge of the casing and of greater diameter than the latter at such lower end.

21. An oil burner comprising a vertical body, a shaft turnably mounted therein, a burner plate operatively mounted with the shaft to turn therewith and above the casing, a fan similarl mountedand'positioned between the top the body and the burner plate, means for rotating said shaft "and for causing oil to be fed onto theburner plate, a casing surrounding the burner plate and fan and extending below the latter, an inverted frusto-conically shaped ring under,

the casing open both at top and bottom, and by which the casing is supported, the upper edge of said ring being on a level withand of greater diameter than the lower end of the casing, a dish formed with the body below, the ring, and heat and electricity insulation members fixed on the dish and on which thering issupported.

22. An oil burner includin I a vertical body, a shaft 'ournaled therein, a burner plate mounted 1n connection with the shaft runner mounted on the lower end of the s aft, the latter being bored longitudinally from a point above the pump runner to the upper end thereof and discharging onto the plate,

a passageway leading from the discharge of the pump runner and communicating with the shaft-bore adjacent the lower end thereof, and a hand-controlled needle valve inter- }posed in said passageway.

23. An oil burner comprising slidably mounted on the upper end of the shaft, means for connecting the, sleeve in driving relation with [the shaft, a burner plate mounted in connection with the sleeve, a fan .under theburner plate similarly i mounted, a driven gear on the lower end of thesleeve,'-and means whereby the sleeve -and parts connected therewith may be removed from the shaft as a unit without dis turbing the latter.

24;. An oil burner. comprising a vertica l body, a shaft journaled therein and projecting thereabove and provided with a transverse groove on its upper end, a sleeve slidably mounted on the upper end of the, shaft, 2. cap on said sleeve, a transverse pin in said cap adapted to seatin the groove, a burner plate and a fan thereunder fixed on the sleeve, a'driven spiral gear on the'lower end of the sleeve, a cap on the body above said gear, a bearing member for said sleeve.

cooperatively mounted with the sleeve and cap, a driving spiral gear meshing with the first named gear journaled in the body and cap thereof, the direction of rotation of the gears tending to draw the sleeve downwardly and the slot-in the shaft being of a vertical body, a shaft journaled therein, a sleeve a depth sufficient to prevent downward strain on the shaft with the downward moving tendency of the sleeve.

25. An oil burner comprising a vertical 26. An oil burner comprising a vertical body, a shaft journaled therein and projecting thereabove and provided with a transverse groove on its upper end, a sleeve slidably mounted on the upper end of the shaft, and having a shoulder on its lower end, a driven spiral gear fixed against rotation on the sleeve .and resting. on the shoulder, a spacer above said gear,an annular ball bearing on the sleeve" above said spacer, a removable cap on the body, the .outer race of the bearing being permanently seated in the ca a horizontal fan on the sleeve above the ba 1 bearing, another spacer .on the sleeve above the fan, a burner plate member on the sleeve above the last named spacer, a cup above the burner plate, a cap threaded over the upper end of th'e s leeve and having a shoulder bearing against the bottom of the cup where by when the .cap-is screwed down all the parts between the cap shoulder and the shoulder on the lower end of the sleeve will I be clampedtoge'ther and a transverse pin in the sleeve-cap adapted to seat in the shaft groove, the shaft having oil passageways leading to the interior of the sleeve cap and p the latter having orifices leading to the cup above the burner plate.

27f An oil burner includinga burner plate adapted to receiver supply of oil thereon, a dish under the plate to catch excess. oil, and screening means between said plate and dish. 28'. An oil burner including a burner plate adapted to receive a supply'of oil thereon, a

driven fan under the' plate, a dish under the fanto catch eXceSsoil from'the plate, and

a frustoconical screen between the fan and ish, and extending outwardly from thehub fo'zf the fan."

29. An oil burner including a burner plate adapted, to receive a supply of oil thereon,

a driven fan under the plate, a dish underthe'fan to catch excess oil from the plate,

screening means between the fan and dish, and a casing surrounding the fan anddish and spaced therefrom, the screen extending to the casing. i

30. An oil burner including {a rotatable burner plate having concentrically. disposed openings intermediate its hub and mm, a.

fan thereunder and connected to rotate therewith, and a tubular member between the plate and fan, the upper edge (of said member fitting against the outer periphery of the plate-openings and the' lower edge being cut to fit the angle of the fan-blades and to rest thereon intermediate the hub and outer edges thereof. I I

31. An oil burner including a vertical casing, a horizontal burner plate arranged to receive oil above the casing, a shaft journaled in the casing and supporting the plate, gearing operatively connected with the shaft and positioned in the casing below the plate; an overflow dish on the outside of the easing below the plate and gearing, and a drain pipe connected in common to the dish and interior of the casing. 32. An oil burner including a vertical casing, a horizontal burner plate arranged to receive oil above the casing, a hollow shaft through which, oil is fed to the plate journaled in the casing, gearing in the casing for rotating the shaft, and acup on the shaft under the gearing, said shaft having an orifice leading from the cup below the top thereof to the hollow interior of the shaft.

33. An oil burner including a body, a shaft journaled therein, and a fan and burner plate structure mounted on the outer end of the shaft in driving relation therewith, and removable therefrom as a unit without .disturbing any other parts of the structure.

34. An oil burner including a body, a

shaft journaled therein, a fan and burner plate unit on the upper end of the shaft, and means for mounting said unit on the shaft to turn therewith while permitting the removal of said unit from the shaft without first removing any other member on the burner. I

35. An oil burner including a burner plate, a fan under the plate, a driven shaft to receive oil above thecasing, a shaft jour naled in the casing and supporting the plate,

, gearing operatively connected with the shaft and positioned in the casing below the plate;

a source of oilsupply, means for feeding oil from said supply onto the plate and also to the gearing, to lubricate the latter, and

means for allowing any oil not consumed as a lubricant to return to the source of supply.

37 An oil burner including a vertical casing, a shaft journaled in the casing and supporting the plate, gearing opcratively connected with the shaft and positioned in the casing below the plate; a source of oil supply, means for feeding oil from said supply onto the plate and'also to the gearing, to lubricate the latter, means for catching any excess oil dropping from the plate. and gearing, and a common pipe leading from said means to the source of supply.

38. An oil burner including a'burner plate disposed in a horizontal plane, means for feeding oil onto the plate, and a dish below the plate arranged to catch and save any surplus oil thereon; the dish being sufiiciently below the'plate so that it is out of the zone of heat caused by the combustion of the fuel on the plate.

39. An oil burner including a burner plate disposed in a horizontal plane, means for feeding oil onto the plate, and a dish below the plate arranged to catch any surplus oil thereon, and means preventing the tendenc) of. any oil on the dish to become ignited from that on the plate.

40. An oil burner including a burner plate disposed in a horizontal plane, means for feeding oil onto the plate, and a dish below the plate'arranged to catch and save any surplus oil "thereon, and a fan arranged to create an upward draft of air disposed between the plate'and dish.

41. An oil burner including a rotatable burner plate, an open" ended casing sur rounding the same in spaced relation there to, and knives mounted on and projecting from the plate to pass adjacent the inner wall of the casing.

42. An oil burner including a body, a shaft journaled therein, a sleeve mounted over the outer end of the shaft and removable therefrom at will, a burner plate structure mountedon the sleeve, and means for drix ing the sleeve and shaft in common without'interfering with the removability of the sleeve,

43. An oil burner including a body, a shaft journaled therein, a sleeve mounted over the outer end of the shaft and removable therefrom at will, a burner plate structure mounted on the sleeve, power means "IRA EDWARD SMITH. 

